Dough-divider.



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PATENTED NOV. 19, 1907.

www @LA f UNTTED sTATEs PATENT onirica.

FRANK STREICII, OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO CHAMPION MACHINERY COMPANY, OF JO'LIET, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

` DOUGH-DIVIDER.

Patented Nov. 19, 1907.

Tol all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, FRANK STREICII, citizen of the United States, residing at Joliet, in the county of Will and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dough-Dividers, of which the following is a specification.

This invcntlon relates to machines for dividingl masses of bread dough or similar Substances, 'into lumps cf redetermined Size or weight, and the especia object of the invention which forms the subject matter of this application for patent, is to produce a machine of economical construction and easy operation, that will scale or measure the dough with great accuracy and uniformity and that will not impair the texture or uality of the dough during manipulation of t e same.

In carr g out the aforegoing and other objects o general utility, I have invented the machine which is shown in a preferred form in the accompanying drawings which` form a part of this ap lication, in which Figure 1 is a side e evation of the machine complete; Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical longitudinal sectionofthe machine; Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the machine; Fig. 4 is a horizontal cross-section of the machine; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail of the divider-head and the knife that cooperates therewith. Fig. 6 isa longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of the means for varying the sizes of the `lumps of dough; Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of the divider-head; Fig. 8` is a detail of a part of a clutch 4device employed in my machine.

My dough divider comprises generallyT a supporting frame, a hop er to receive the massesd of dough to be ivided, means for feeding the dough from the hopper to the dividingchambers, means for controlling the amount of dough entering the measuring chamber, means for accurately adjusting said controlling elements, and means for ejectingthe lumps of dough when separated or divided.

Referring to the details of the drawing, A represents the supporting frame of the maichme, in the upper. portion of which is arranged a cylindrical chamber B which is directly below the hopper b and is adapted to receive dough from the latter through a passageway'b. The hopper is hinged on the frame so that it may be readily swung out of operative position as shown in Fig. 3, and is locked in operative position by pivotcd links b1 which engage the hopper feet l1.

Above the passageway b4 are mounted rollers b2, b3, which are journaled in the frame, arranged to occupy the bottom of the hopper when it is in o erative position and are rotated toward eac other by intermeshing worm b12 and worm-gears t7, 67, the latter being fixed on the spindles of the rollers b2, b3, and the former journaled in brackets b on the side of the hopper.

Slidablymounted in the cylinder B is a hollow cylindric piston D in the outer endof which is arranged a blockdl in the side of which is a in d which extends through a horizontal s ot d8 formedvinthe side of the iston, thus limiting the movements of` the block in the iston. Between the innerend wall ot the piston andthe inner end of the block is an expansion coiled s ring d2 which forms a yielding bearing vfor t 1e block. To the outer end of the block is connected one end of a lirfk da the other end of which is connected with a lever d* which is-pivoted on a frame studd5, and is connected by a link d with an eccentric (Z7 which is mounted on the driven-shaft E journaled in the frame. The shaft lE `has iXed thereon a gear-wheel el which meshes with a pinion f3 on the drive- .shaft F which is journaled in the frame, and the shaft F carries loose and tight pulleys f1, f2, which may be belted to any suitable shaft ulley or power mechanism. On the shaft F between the ulley f2 and the frame, is fixed a pulley f 4 or a urpose to be described.

A shaft G is journa ed in the frame extensions b5, b5. For a portion of its length this shaft is hollow (see Fig. 6) and is provided with a longitudinal slot g7 in one side. A block g3 is slidably arranged in the shaft G and is bored and threaded to receive a threaded rod g4 which'extends through the hollow ortion of the shaft, is secured against ongitudinal movement at the end of the shaft and has an operating wheel g5 on its outer end.

A sleeve g1 is slidably mounted on the shaft G and is connected with thc block g3 by a stud-bolt g2 which passes through the sleeve and enters a threaded hole in the block. The sleeve is formed with an external annular groove into which is loosely itted a collar g6 on which are pivoted by. bolts c5 the yokes c4 which partially embrace-.the collar. To the outer ends of the yokes are pivoted plunger rods c3, c3, t the free ends of which are secured plungers c2, c2 which are slidably mounted in 'cylindrical chambers cl formed integral with a disk C. The disk C is formed in addition to the two cylindrical chambers c, with a central hub extension 10 which is bored to receive loosely the shaft G (see F ig. 7 on which it is mounted. The hub is also bored on opposite sides of the central bore to forni ways c, c, for eXpansion coil springs c", c the outer ends of which bear against screw-plugs c1", cw' and the other ends against pins c7, c7, which extend through suitable holes in the face of the disk and project therefrom. The pins engage concentric grooves h4, h5, formed in the face of a collar II which is mounted on the shaftG adjacent to the disk. The collar is formed with peripheral grooves 71,3, about which are wound in opposite directions, ropes e, h. The rope e4 extends downwardly `over a pulley e5 mounted on a stud-shaft on the frame and its lower end is connected with a stud e which is adjustably secured in a slot in an arm .e2 fixed on the shaft E. The rope .71,1 passes over a grooved pulley h mounted on a stud-shaft on the upper part of the frame,

and'has its lowerend connected with the upper end of a coil spring h the ylower end of which'is secured to the frame lug k7 (Fig. 3).v

Bolted to the frame near the disk C is a metal lateI (see Fig. 5) the free edge of which is beveled and Ain frictionalV contact1 With the -face of the disk thus serving as a scra er or knife in removing any dough that mig t adhere to the face of the plungers or the disk. 40 A sheet-iron hood i? is secured to the frame so as to'cover the knife and protectV the o erator from coming in contact'with the kni e.

y Below the hood and in position to catch theV lumps of vdough when ejected by the plungers c2, is a table J which' is bolted to the frame of the machine and extends at rightangles therefrom. From the pulley f4 a belt runs over a pulley b on the spindle t of the Worm 1712 thustransmitting motion to the latter which, as has been stated, drives the Worm-gears b" on the spindles of the rollers b2, b3.

The operation of a machine constructed substantially as described will' be as follows The shaft F being driven by a suitable belt on the pulley f2, will in turn drive the pulley f? which., thro h the belt f;

will rotate the rollers b2, b3, toward each other. The shaft F through the intermeshing gears f, e, will drive the shaft E, thus driving the eccentric d and the parts d, d4, d3, and d1, connected drive the Worm 512 Whic therewith. The shaft E will also rotate the.

arm e2 and thus give a reciprocating movement to the rope e4 and an oscillating motion to the block H with which the rope is connected.l The oscillation of the block II` will be in `part effected by the rope h1 and s ring h". As the block H oscillates on its s aft G it will, through the alternate engagement of the pins c7, c, with the shoulders at the ends of the grooves 7L, h5, cause the disk C to oseillate on the shaft G, and thus bring the chambers c, c1, alternately opposite the cylinder B and the knife I. Now if a mass of dough is placed in the hopper b1, the rollers will draw a portion of it downwardly between -them and force it through the passageway b4 into the cylinder B where it will be acted on by the piston D which, in its forward movements, will force as much of the dough into the chamber then op osito the cylinder as the position of the p unger cZ therein will permit. The stroke of the piston will be so timed relative to the movements of the disk that at each stroke, a chamber will be filled with dough. The oscillation of the disk will serve to cut oil' the dough in `the chamber from that in the cylinder and will carry the lump thus divided around to the o posite side of the machine whereupon the orward movement of the plunger in the filled chamber will eject the dough and itwill drop u on the table. This forward movement of t e plunger will be produced by the rearward movement of its companion plunger which will be forced rearwardly by the dough being pushed into the chamber by the piston D as above described. In order to adjust the position of the plungers relative to their res ective chambers, whereby the amount o dough entering the chambers may be controlled, I turn the threaded rod g4 by the hand-wheelg5 and thus cause the block g3 and the sleeve g1 secured thereto to slide forwardly orbackwardly depending upon the direction inA i which the rod is turned, thus adjustingboth plungers simultaneously and uniformly, andthe ineness of adjustment being limited only by the number of threads-to the inch on the rod.v Y l After the cylinder B is once filled with dough, the piston in its forward movement will lmpinge on the dough and if no cushioning or yieldingl devices were employed1 in connection wit the piston, the gas in the dough wouldV be forced out by the iston' pressure and hence the life of the ough. would be destroyed rendering necessary further fermentatior. In my machine I provide for this condition' by providing the retreating plungers, the passagewa to the rollers, and most effective of all, t e spring 12 in the piston. In addition to serving as a cushion for the piston in its pressure on4 the dough in the cylinder, it also serves to modify the thrust of the block d1 in its for- Ward movement and thus makes the ma# i. chineeas or without jars or pounding whic would otherwise result from the reciprocation of the piston. i

Referring to the utility of my machine, attention is es eci'ally invited to the ready accessibility o all parts for` cleaning puroses. The piston can be easily removed i'rom the chamber by unscrewing the pin d or taking out the pivot connecting da with d",- the plungers can be removed from the chambers c1 by merely turning the rod g4 until the plungers clear the chambers thus opening both ends of the cylinder B as well as the chambers. By turning back tne hopper the rollers b2, b3, are eX osed. 'Thus every part of the machine t at comes in contact with the dough may be quickly,

easily and thoroughly cleaned.

- Havin thus described my invention, what I c aim, iszl 1. In a dough dividin machine, a hopper, feeding 'means arrange .in said hopper, a cylinder adapted toreceive the dough frm said feeding means, a reciprocating iston arranged in` said cylinder, an osci ating member having dough measurin chambers, means for osclllatin said memer, means for reci rocating sai iston, and adjustable means or measuring t e dough admitted to said chambers. Y

2. In a machine of the class described, a cylinder adapted to receive the material to be operated on, a hollow reciprocating piston arranged in said cylinder and means within said piston whereby a yielding pressure on the material is eected.

3. In a machine of the class described, a cylinder adapted to receive the material to be operated on, a hollow reciprocating piston removably mounted in said cylinder, a block slidably larranged in said iston and a spring .r between said block and t e piston.

4. In-'a dou h machine, a hopper, feed rollers mounted in said ho'per, ai chamber adaplted to receive from sai rollers portions e doughto be operated on, a plunger slidably arranged in said chamber, a block arranged in said plun er, means for adjusting the stroke of said Iunger, and cushioning means for said bloc y,

5. In a dough machine, a chamber adapted to receive portions of the material to be opererated on, a piston slidably arranged in said chamber, a lever and cushioning means between said lever and said piston.

6. In a dough dividing machine, an oscillating disk provided with chambers, lungers slidably arranged in said cham ers, means for oscillating said disk, means com` mon to said plungers for limiting their stroke, means for forcing dough into said chambers, andl means for removing dough from the face of said disk. j

7. In a dough dividing machine, an oscillating member having dough measuring chambers formed therein, connected plungers slidably arranged in said chambers and adapted to be operated by the dough forced into said chambers, means for forcing dough into said chambers, and means for regulating the stroke of said plun ers.

8. In a machine of t e class described, an

oscillating member having chambers formed therein, plungers slidably arranged in said chambers, means for oscillating said member, means for regpllpting the strokes of said plungers, and a 'fe arran ed in contact with the face of said member or the purpose set forth.

9. In a machine of the'class described, chambers adapted to receive portions of the material operated on, plungers slidably mounted in said chambers, and means for regulating thestroke of said plungers, said means consisting of a shaft, a sleeve on said shaft and connected with said lungers, and means for adjusting the sleeve ongitudinally on the shaft.

10. Ina machine of the class described, an oscillating dough receiving member having a .plurality of measurin chambers open at their front and rear en s, alternately operating plungers arranged in said chambers,

means connecting together said plungers, Y

FRANK STREICH.

Witnesses:

EUGENE H. GARNETT, FREDERICK BENJAMIN. 

